MELODRAMA

These excited patriots, delirious with joy that at last their own town
was in their hands, did not set Rieka on fire, nor did they murder women
and children; but the Italianists forthwith sent wireless messages to
Venice, screaming that all these enormities were taking place. A few of
them rushed off in motors to Triest, where they made themselves into a
Committee of Public Safety, picked up some Triest sympathizers and flew
on to Venice, where they related breathless stories of foul deeds. One,
which appeared in the Italian Press, was that three children of Rieka
had been publicly committed to the flames.

FARCE

On November 4 an Italian destroyer, the _Stocco_, shortly followed by
the _Emanuele Filiberto_, a cruiser, came on their errand of humanity.
The I.N.C. at once organized a plebiscite--by which is meant not a dull
giving and counting of votes in the usual election booths. A plebiscite,
at all events a plebiscite at Rieka, signifies for the Italianists a mob
assembled in a public thoroughfare; photographs of such assemblies
illustrate their pamphlets and are entitled "plebiscito." At the harbour
the Italian Admiral, whose name was Raineri, told the joyous I.N.C.--who
now had flung aside their anonymity--that he had come to bring them a
salute from Italy, and that he had been sent to shield Italians and to
protect Italian interests. The plebiscite threw up its hats and waved
its flags, and shouted its applause and sang its songs. Flowers fell
upon the Admiral, and on his men and on the guns; the ships, as we are
told, were changed to floating gardens. But the sailors did not
disembark. Some ladies, members of the plebiscite, besought the Admiral
to come ashore, and hoping to persuade the men, they climbed on board
and playfully seized many sailors' caps, which in the town, they said,
could be redeemed. Then shortly afterwards, the Yugoslav officials came
to greet the Admiral, as did the commandant of the Yugoslav troops which
had been for several days guarding the town. Meanwhile some unknown
persons had been up in the old clock-tower and, for reasons known
perhaps to themselves, had taken in both the Croatian and Italian flags;
the Admiral drove up to see the Governor, Dr. Lenac, and requested that
his country's flag should be rehoisted, which of course was done. And
until November 17 the Admiral was nearly every day up at the Governor's
palace, as a multitude of details had to be discussed.